First-year success
IAN BIVONA | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 9 months AGO
Six Bronco wrestlers are moving on to the 2023 Mat Classic this weekend, including many first-year wrestlers.
IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Ian Bivona serves as the Columbia Basin Herald’s sports reporter and is a graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He enjoys the behind-the-scenes stories that lead up to the wins and losses of the various sports teams in the Basin. Football is his favorite sport, though he likes them all, and his favorite team is the Jets. He lives in Soap Lake with his cat, Honey. | February 17, 2023 1:00 AM
RITZVILLE – With a roster full of wrestlers new to the sport, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos still managed to have six wrestlers move on to the 2023 Mat Classic.
Bronco senior Myra Miller (190) and sophomore Emmy Klewin (155) both advanced to the girls state tournament. For the boys, junior Gabe Smith (195) and sophomore Brock Tracy (285) advanced to state. Eighth-grader Wyatt Gibler (106) and freshman Waylon Rosman (113) are alternates in the boys tournament.
“We ended up with 10 boys and two girls, and only (three) of those kids have wrestled before,” LRS Head Coach Jason Hilzer said. “The kids that are going to state have never wrestled except for Myra (Miller) and Gabe (Smith), who wrestled a little bit last year. Other than that, it’s everybody’s first year.”
Miller was an alternate to regionals last year and was skeptical about returning to the team this year according to Hilzer. After Klewin signed up to wrestle three weeks into the season, Miller returned to wrestle another year for the Broncos.
“She got right back in the groove of where she left off last year,” Hilzer said.
Eight of the 10 boys wrestlers ended up placing at districts, with seven moving on to regionals. Hilzer said the results will pave the way for more LRS wrestlers next season.
“This is great, team-wise,” Hilzer said. “I think it’s going to build up the program, we're going to get some more kids out.”
Four of the six Broncos heading to state are underclassmen, which will also assist in giving wrestlers a confidence boost in future seasons.
“I think it makes a big difference,” Hilzer said. “If you can get to state, it takes the awe out of it as a freshman or sophomore. You get there, get the nerves out of the way, and as you come back the following year – just go out there and wrestle.”
Lind-Ritzville state wrestlers
Boys
Eighth-grader Wyatt Gibler (106)*
Freshman Waylon Rosman (113)*
Junior Gabe Smith (195)
Sophomore Brock Tracy (285)
Girls
Sophomore Emmy Klewin (155)
Senior Myra Miller (190)